I hope I’m posting this in the right area. I’ve watched all your videos on practical ambisonics with WigWare plugins in conjuction with reaper (the DAW I coincidentally have been using). I’m definitely a beginner to this format, and although I’ve looked extensively over the past few of days (truly), I’m having trouble finding more information on the physical setup and layout of the speakers. Could you point me in the right direction? Would a 9 speaker 2nd order (“WXYZRSTUV”) setup be adequate for a beginner? If so, what shape, angle, and distance would I even place the speakers? In the videos you mention the Derby lab using KRK Rokit 5, but I didn’t catch the type the audio interface. I guess in the end I’ve probably got too many questions about this exciting technology, I just find it very interesting and refreshing when compared to 7.1 or 5.1. Any links to either books or other materials would be greatly appreciated. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time!

Hi Zak. The speaker layout is not fixed, so can be whatever there is a decoder available for. I’d start with the first order decoders to start off with (as there are more layouts available….2nd order coming soon after I’ve fixed the Maverick issues!)

Looking at the 1st order decoders, you can use square, hexagon (1st speaker at 0 degrees, or 30 degrees), octagon (first speaker at 0 degrees or 22.5 degrees), cube, 5.1 or octahedron.

The soundcard used doesn’t really matter as long as your DAW supports it, and distance the speakers are placed at is up to you as long as you’re consistent 🙂

If you use 1st order Ambisonics, you can get away with a minimum of 4 speakers for a horizontal only setup. 2nd order, you need 6, and 3rd order you’d need 8. For 3D arrays, it’s more complex than that!